Private Spaceflight Takes Off , On May 22 and Oct. 7, 2012, an unmanned Dragon spacecraft launched on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with supplies for the astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Such resupply flights are routine, but these flights were different. Both Dragon and Falcon 9 were entirely private projects, built by Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), which had won a NASA contract to carry supplies to the ISS. The Dragon flights were the most notable success from a new wave of private space companies that hoped to make spaceflight cheaper and more accessible.

SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft was grappled by the Canadarm2 robotic arm of the ISS on May 25, 2012. …

NASA

Space Launch Providers

Until the early 1980s, all launches into space were carried out under state auspices. With the growth of the telecommunications satellite industry, however, a market opportunity arose for private space launch providers. The first private launch was the suborbital flight of Space Services Inc.’s Conestoga 1 rocket in 1982. Two other launches followed in 1989 and 1995. Since that time the manufacturers of U.S. launch vehicles, as well as numerous other companies around the world, have competed against state-owned space agencies in bids to launch commercial satellites.

In the early 2000s, with the retirement of the U.S. space shuttle looming, NASA opened competitive bidding to private space services that would provide low-cost access to the ISS and an alternative to the Russian Soyuz. The first goal was development of an unmanned cargo capability, including the return of specimens from the ISS. Eventually, private companies would provide the capability of launching and returning a complete ISS crew of six people.

SpaceX, founded by entrepreneur Elon Musk, pursued a methodical approach to this problem with the Falcon launch vehicle and Dragon spacecraft. After successful test flights of the single-engine Falcon 1 in 2008 and 2009, SpaceX moved up to the larger Falcon 9, which employed nine of Falcon 1’s Merlin engines. The Falcon 9–Dragon combination proved successful in its first two flights, with the second, in May 2012, berthing at the ISS. The third flight, in October, returned to Earth with specimens. SpaceX’s contract with NASA called for 12 cargo flights to the ISS through 2016. Manned DragonRider flights were expected in 2015, first with a SpaceX crew and rigorous testing before NASA would allow its own astronauts to embark.

SpaceX’s closest competitor was Orbital Sciences Corp., with its Antares launcher and Cygnus spacecraft. Cygnus would be able to deliver supplies to the ISS, though with no return capability. Its first flight was planned for 2013.

Space Tourism

Space tourism is a fast-growing market that began with the availability of seats on Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft in the 1990s. Between 2001 and 2009, until increased operational demands ended the program, seven spaceflight participants (who disdained the word tourist) flew to the ISS for more than $20 million per flight. (Despite the program’s end, however, in October 2012 it was announced that British singer Sarah Brightman had purchased a seat for a flight in 2015.)

A boom in suborbital space tourism began with the $10 million Ansari X Prize, established in 1996 by engineer Peter Diamandis. Conceived as a modern analog to the $25,000 Orteig Prize, awarded in 1927 to aviator Charles Lindbergh for flying nonstop from New York to Paris, the X Prize was to be awarded to the first team to achieve two suborbital flights by the same three-person spacecraft within a two-week period. It was won in 2004 by SpaceShipOne, built by aerospace designer Burt Rutan’s company Scaled Composites.

Within a year SpaceShipOne technology was licensed by British entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson’s space tourism company Virgin Galactic, which soon brought out SpaceShipTwo. Routine suborbital space tourism was scheduled to start in 2013 on this spacecraft, which would have a crew of two and seating for six passengers. Even at a cost of $200,000 per flight and a required three-day training regimen, more than 500 customers had booked flights by the end of 2012. Released in midair by a launch aircraft, SpaceShipTwo would rocket to a maximum altitude of 110 km (68 mi), where passengers would be able to float out of their seats for several minutes and enjoy the view through large portholes. After reentry the craft would land at Spaceport America near Upham, N.M.

Other companies planned suborbital flights that would take passengers to the edge of space. Armadillo Aerospace, founded by gaming software pioneer John Carmack, tested a vertical takeoff/landing system, and Blue Origin, founded by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, was developing the New Shepard vehicle. Both companies were largely quiet on details and schedules.

Commercial Spaceports

Some private launch providers operated from launch pads at existing state-owned facilities, such as SpaceX at Cape Canaveral and Orbital Sciences at Wallops Island, Virginia. At the same time, a number of purpose-built spaceports were being developed or planned.

The first of these was Spaceport America in New Mexico. Although it was 4.5° in latitude farther north than Cape Canaveral, its elevation of 1,400 m (4,595 ft) put it above 10% of Earth’s atmosphere. The reduced drag more than compensated for the loss of eastward velocity from being farther from the Equator. Also, the U.S. Army’s White Sands Missile Range was nearby, giving the spaceport a large controlled airspace for safe operations.

The Spaceport America hangar near Upham, N.M., which was dedicated on Oct. 17, 2011, was the …

Matt York/AP

Spaceport America’s principal features were a 3,700-m (12,000-ft) runway and a passenger terminal. Spaceport America also had facilities to support vertical launches. Its anchor tenant was Virgin Galactic, though Armadillo Aerospace also conducted at least six private launches of a test rocket at the spaceport.

To Orbit and Beyond

A logical next step in space tourism would be orbital flight, affording paying customers hours of weightlessness as well as stunning views of Earth. And once in orbit, why not longer stays?

Overnight tours would require an orbiting hotel, such as that being developed by Bigelow Aerospace (BA), founded by hotel magnate Robert Bigelow. BA used the TransHab inflatable module concept that NASA studied in the 1990s for the ISS. In TransHab the module’s systems and equipment were stored in the centre, and the module was collapsed for launch, thus saving on volume and cost. After arrival in orbit, the module would inflate, and foam would expand to provide a rigid structure. BA demonstrated the concept with the Genesis 1 and 2 modules, launched in 2006 and 2007, respectively. A six-person BA 330 module was expected to be launched in 2015 on a Falcon 9.

A model of a Moon base using the inflatable modules developed by Bigelow Aerospace.

Next stop, of course, would be the Moon. In December 2012 a group of investors and space explorers announced the formation of Golden Spike, which would provide private trips to the lunar surface. The Moon lander would be launched first and parked in lunar orbit. A spacecraft would follow with two passengers, who would transfer to the lander and descend to the surface of the Moon for at least 36 hours before returning to lunar orbit.

And beyond? Musk proposed a “Red Dragon” Mars lander, and discussions started on the possibility of one-way trips to the Red Planet. Musk believed that if the price of such a trip dropped to $500,000 per person, as many as 80,000 people would be willing to colonize Mars.